Your weekly fact-checks
#TrumpCheck
PolitiFact
False: President Donald Trump signed an executive order for “a total border shutdown with no set reopening date” on July 1.
President Donald Trump did not sign an executive order closing the U.S. border indefinitely starting July 1. An immigration law expert told PolitiFact that although the president has authority to close the border, it has to be under emergencies or exigent circumstances.
Africa Check
False: US president Trump said Nigeria's leadership poses threat to global security.
The Trump administration is considering adding 36 countries, including Nigeria, to the US travel ban list. But the US president hasn’t labelled the West African country a threat to global security, as claimed online.
Snopes
False: U.S. President Donald Trump's administration was testing "internal travel restrictions" inside the country's borders in mid-2025.
In early July 2025, a viral Facebook reel falsely claimed that leaked government memos revealed the Trump administration was testing internal U.S. travel restrictions, including ID checks and denied domestic flights. No credible sources confirmed the existence of such policies or memos, and the White House called the story “obviously fake news,” with AI-generated content likely responsible for spreading the misinformation.
#Conflicts
Newschecker
False: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) takes a covert photo of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu sitting in his office, publishes it with a chilling warning.
The viral image is edited. The original photo is from February 2009 and was taken during Netanyahu’s election campaign.
Agence France-Presse - AFP
False: Israelis are fleeing the country during the war with Iran.
A video circulating in Indonesian-language social media posts shows a religious pilgrimage, not Israeli refugees who fled from Iranian missile strikes during the 12-day war between the Middle East arch foes. While thousands of people caught up in the conflict were evacuated, the clip matches satellite imagery of a cultural heritage site in southern Peru.
#Politics
Snopes
True: A migrant detention center known as "Alligator Alcatraz" was expected to open in Florida in 2025.
In July 2025, a migrant detention center nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz” officially opened in the Florida Everglades, backed by federal and state officials, including President Trump and Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier. The facility, located at the Dade-Collier airport and surrounded by wildlife, is designed to hold up to 3,000 detainees as part of a mass deportation strategy and is expected to cost $450 million annually.
Misbar
False: Syrian President starts speaking perfect Hebrew during the meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.
A viral image claiming to show Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa meeting Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and speaking fluent Hebrew was found to be digitally altered, originally showing al-Sharaa with Turkey’s Foreign Minister in Damascus. While rumors of Syria-Israel normalization talks persist, experts consider a formal agreement unlikely soon, despite ongoing regional negotiations and Syria unveiling a new national emblem symbolizing a post-Assad era.
#Economy
Snopes
True: H.R. 1, the budget omnibus bill U.S. President Donald Trump called the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," will add trillions of dollars to the national debt.
During budget negotiations in mid-2025, claims circulated that President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” would add $3.9 trillion to the national debt, a figure sourced from a nonprofit group, not the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). However, the CBO did confirm the bill would increase the debt by $2.8 to $3.3 trillion over 10 years; it passed both chambers of Congress by narrow margins and Trump planned to sign it on July 4.
#Healthcare
Agence France-Presse - AFP
False: South African epidemiologist points out flaws on Covid-19 vaccine safety.
South Africa’s health ministry has expressed concern about a persistent campaign of Covid-19 vaccine disinformation circulating online, referring to a video that purports to show renowned South African epidemiologist Salim Abdool Karim calling vaccines unsafe. But the video is a deepfake, created by altering an unrelated, old news report. Karim’s organisation, the featured journalist, and South Africa’s health department have all publicly dismissed the video as fake.
#Climate
Reuters
False: Over exaggerated fiery weather map shows climate change is fake.
A screenshot of a German weather broadcast altered to satirically show fiery colours has been shared online with the false suggestion it presents evidence that climate change is a hoax and its effects are being exaggerated. The account that posted the image says it is satire. A spokesperson for German news programme Tagesthemen said the image was fake and that it had not broadcast the lava-like map.
#Nordics
Faktisk
Falsk: I 2023 lovet statsminister Jonas Gahr Støre 1500 nye sykehjemsplasser, men i 2024 gikk antallet tilgjengelige plasser faktisk ned.
Under en debatt 8. juli tørnet Arbeiderpartiets Even A. Røed og Fremskrittspartiets Bård Hoksrud sammen om utviklingen i sykehjemskapasiteten. Offisielle tall viste at det under Arbeiderparti-regjeringen (2021-2024) ble opprettet 762 nye plasser, noe som reverserte en nedgang under den forrige Høyre-FrP-regjeringen. Andelen eldre over 80 år som får institusjonsplass, har imidlertid gått ned, og mye av den siste utvidelsen ble finansiert av bevilgninger som ble gitt før Arbeiderpartiet tiltrådte.
#WTF?! What The Fact of the week
Snopes
True: A boy found a World War II tank buried in mud in Estonia.
In 1944, a boy in Estonia spotted tank tracks leading into a lake, and many years later his recollections guided the Otsing history club to recover a Soviet T-34 tank from underwater in 2000. The tank, left behind by retreating German troops and buried under peat, was intended for display in a museum, though its current location is uncertain. While online ads sensationalized the story, it is rooted in real events documented by the local history club.
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